St. Ambrose of Optina

Alexander Grenkov was a schoolteacher who became a monk at Optina and learned from the elders Leonid and Macarius. Though often too ill to leave his bed, he received crowds every day, peasants and nobles alike, giving advice with gentleness and humour. Dostoevsky visited him after his son died, and Ambrose helped inspire the elder Zosima in The Brothers Karamazov. He founded the Shamordino convent and reposed there in 1891.

• Feast: October 10 (New Calendar)
• Lived: 1812–1891
• Place: Optina